Spool loading devices

ABSTRACT

A spool loading device comprises a container which holds a pair of spools and a linking ribbon in positions corresponding to those in which they are used in a utilising machine, thus enabling the spools and ribbon to be loaded without damage to the ribbon.

United States Patent [m Hnckle 4 SPOOL LOADING DEVICES [75] Inventor: Ralph Edward lluckle,

Southboume, near Emswort'h, England [731 Assignee: English Numbering Machines i Limited,- London, England I [22] Filed:- Oct. 21; 1971 2 1 Appl.No.: l91,439

[52] US; Cl. 242/71.2 [51] Int. Cl. G03b 1/04 [58] Field of Search.; 242/55, 71.1, 71.2, 71.7, 197,

242/199; 206/52 F, 59 E, 46 FM [56] :Refer'ences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,138,084 6/1964 Harvey 242/71.2x

2,575,035 11/1951 Wallace 242/71.2 X 3,653,604 4/1972 Wiesner 242/71.2 3,065,924 11/1962 OHare 242/7l.2 1,561,945 11/1925 lenin.. 242/71.2 2,381,033 8/1945 Bolsey..... 242/71.2 X 3,347,142 10/1967 Steisslinger 242/7l.2 X

I Primary ExaminerJohn W. Huckert Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Brisebois & Kruger [5 7] ABSTRACT A spool loading device comprises a container which holds a pair of spools and a linking ribbon in positions corresponding to those in which they are used in a utilising machine, thus enabling the spoolsand ribbon to be loaded without damage to the ribbon.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Fi g ures 3,794,259 1 1' Feb. 26, 1974 PATENTEUFEBZBIQYA sum 1 OF 5 FIG. 7.

PATENTEB FEBZ 6 I974 SHEET 3 BF 5 1 sPooL LOADING DEVICES This invention relates to apparatus which utilises a roll of ribbon, tape, strip or the like (hereinafter referred to as ribbon) which is fed from a first or full spool to a second or empty spool as the ribbon is used, the spools being supported in a cassette or holder.

When all the ribbon has been transferred from the first spool to the second spool it is sometimes necessary to replace both spools with a new loaded spool and an empty spool.

The object of the invention is to provide an easy and cheap method of re-charging a ribbon cassette which eliminates the need for handling the ribbon during the re-charging operation.

According to the invention a spool housing for loading a cassette comprises a container shaped to receive and disposition a pair of spools and linking ribbon so that when a loaded housing and an empty cassette are offered up to each other the spools and ribbon-may be transferred to the cassette, and the housing and cassette then separated.

More specifically, the invention provides a spool housing for loading a cassette having a pair of spaced spool support rods or tubes and at least one ribbon guide rod, comprising a container shaped to receiveand disposition a pair of spools and linking ribbon so that when a loaded housing and an empty cassette are mutually offered up the spools are correctly positioned nd spool. It is this complete assembly of two spools connected by ribbon which it is desired to load on to thecassette. This action is achieved by use of a spool carrier such as that illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. A full spool 3 and an empty spool I linked together by the ribbon 2 are contained within a housing 40 closed at one end 50 and open at the other end 60. A lid 70 fits over the closed end to hold the spools in position and to prevent the ingress of dust and so on. The housing 40 is so shaped as to embrace each of the spools thus holding them substantially parallel to-one another. The direction of ribbon consumption is indicated by the arrow. The housing is spectacle shaped in cross-section, with the linking ribbon lying in a channel across the bridge. The method of using the spool carrier to re-loadthe cassette is as follows: I

Stand the carrier on its base 50 and remove the lid 70. From above, offer the cassette with its rods 4 pointing downwards. Enter the rods into the spool bores and 7 push downwards as far as possible. This action will cause the conical ends 9 of the spools to deflect the spring wire catches 5 so that they eventually engage the grooves 6 in the spool ends. The whole assembly of cas- FIG. I is a side elevation, with parts broken away and parts in section, of a form of cassette used on encoding machines;

FIG. 2 is an end view of FIG. 1, after loading with new ribbon, taken in the direction of the arrow A;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of one form of spool loading device according tothe present invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of FIG. 3, with the cover removed; I

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of another form of cassette used in encoding machines;-

FIG. 6 is an end view of FIG. 5; I

FIG. 7 is a side elevation. partly in section, of another form of spool loading device according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an end view of FIG. 7, with the cover re moved, and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment.

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 to 4, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a typical arrangement of cassette carrying two spools, the lower 1, in FIG. I, has been filled with ribbon 2 and the upper spool 3 emptied. This is the normal condition of the cassette when it is removed from the printing machine. The two spools can be removed from support rods or tubes 4 by first lifting spring wire catches 5 (which normally retain the spools by engaging with grooves 6 in the spool ends) and pulling the spools axially-until they are clear of the rods 4. Reference 8 are guide rods for the ribbon.

It is now required to replace the spools by two others, one of which is fully charged with ribbon. The outer end of this ribbon is fed across and securedto the secsette with spools can now housing 40. I To guide the ribbon on its required course during use be lifted upwards out of the of the cassette in the printing machine-it is usual toprocated by the dotted circles 8 in FlG. 4. When the 215- sembly of cassette and spools is withdrawn from the carrier as described above the ribbon lies loosely across the two guide rods 8; rotation of the empty spool for a portion .ofa revolution is all that is necessaryto tighten the ribbon across the guide rods thus positioning the ribbon correctly for trouble-free insertion into the machine. At'no time is there any need for fingers to touch the ribbon itself and this is, of course, a very important advantage when expensive and delicate ribbons with sensitive surfaces are being used. This is particularly advantageous with total transfer ribbons where a large number of layers can be rendered useless by, for example, fairly light pressure by a finger-nail. I

Referring now to FIGS. 5 to 8, when parts corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are denoted by the same reference with the suffix a, two spools la linked together by the ribbon 2a are contained within thehousing 40a into which fits a secondary housing or formed strip 41, the purpose of which is to embrace the spools and guide the ribbon in the desired path. The housings 40a, 4l present -a spectacle-shaped crosssection. A lid a fits over thehousing to seal it. The cassette has formed upon it two tubular lugs 42 which are slotted near one end to allow the two springs wire catches 5a to rest as shown. When the empty cassette is to be loaded, the lid 70a is first removed, the housing .is stood upon its base 50a and the cassette is offered to 3. spool is then rotated sufficiently by hand for the ribbon to be drawn tautly across-the guide rods 8a.

FIG. 9 shows, in cross-sectional elevation, a further embodiment which is essentially similar to the first embodiment and in which like parts are denoted by like reference numerals. In this embodiment, the housing 40 is a vacuum formed from a plastics material and is sufficiently thin to provide a degree of resilience. The base of the container is formed with annular ribs 42 which engage with circular projections 44 on the bases of the spools l and 3 to retain the spools 1, 3 in the housing 40 by friction until the catches 5 are engaged with the grooves 6 or the spools are otherwise pulled from the housing against this engagement. This prevents the possibility of the spools falling from the housing accidentally during handling.

it is also possible to provide ribs axially of the spools l, 3 on the wall of the housing to perform a similar function.

The invention is not limited by the foregoing details, which are given by way of example, as various modifications may be made to suit'requirements.

It will be appreciated that although the invention has been described in application to encoding machines, it is suitable for use withother business machines and in the cinematographic or other fields.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling a spooled ribbon, comprising in combination:

A. A holder for holding asupply spool, a take-up spool and a ribbon passing from one spool to the other and for locating same in an operative position in a ribbon-utilising machine, said holder comprising a base member, two spool support rods 4 mounted on the base member in spaced parallel re- I lationship for engaging bores provided in corresponding spools, and guide means mounted on the base member for'guiding a ribbon passing from one spool to the other; and

B. A spool housing comprising a first portion arranged to hold a first spool, a second housing arranged to hold a second spool in spaced parallel relationship to said first spool, the spacing between the spools corresponding to that between said spool support rods, and a linking portion between said first and second portions and including means for locating the linking part of a ribbon wound on the spools in a path corresponding to that required by said guide means, the spool housing being open at one side to allow said spool support rods to be inserted in the spools whereby the ribbon may be withdrawn from the housing properly engaged with said guide'means.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spool housing has a spectacle-shaped cross-section in which the linking portion forms a bridge and is formed as engagement of the spools.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 ,7 59 Dated 26 February 97 Inventor(s) RALPH EDWARD HUCKLE It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data 7 Octob r-21, 1970 7 Great. Britain..... 499 l8/7O Signed and sealed this 11th day of June I 1971;.

(SEAL) Attest:

mm mFwrcnEmJa; Attesting Officer G. MARSHALL DANN comissioner of Patents Q powso I v USCONIM-DC 60376-P69 u.s. sovznnmzm' ynm'nuc orrlc: gals o-asa-su. 

1. Apparatus for handling a spooled ribbon, comprising in combination: A. A holder for holding a supply spool, a take-up spool and a ribbon passing from one spool to the other and for locating same in an operative position in a ribbon-utilising machine, said holder comprising a base member, two spool support rods mounted on the base member in spaced parallel relationship for engaging bores provided in corresponding spools, and guide means mounted on the base member for guiding a ribbon passing from one spool to the other; and B. A spool housing comprising a first portion arranged to hold a first spool, a second housing arranged to hold a second spool in spaced parallel relationship to said first spool, the spacing between the spools corresponding to that between said spool support rods, and a linking portion between said first and second portions and including means for locating the linking part of a ribbon wound on the spools in a path corresponding to that required by said guide means, the spool housing being open at one side to allow said spool support rods to be inserted in the spools whereby the ribbon may be withdrawn from the housing properly engaged with said guide means.
 2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spool housing has a spectacle-shaped cross-section in which the linking portion forms a bridge and is formed as a channel to provide said locating means.
 3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spool housing includes an outer case and an inner wall member fixed to the outer case and cooperating therewith to define a container of spectacle-shaped cross-section, the bridge part of which is formed as a channel between said outer case and said inner wall member to provide said locating means.
 4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spool housing has ribs formed therein to provide frictional engagement of the spools. 